Wireless communication may be used as a means of accessing a network. Wireless communication has certain advantages over wired communications for accessing a network. One of those advantages is a lower cost of infrastructure to provide access to many separate locations or addresses compared to wired communications. This is the so-called “last mile” problem. Another advantage is mobility. Wireless communication devices, such as cell phones, are not tied by wires to a fixed location. To use wireless communication to access a network, a customer needs to have at least one transceiver in active communication with another transceiver that is connected to the network.
To facilitate wireless communications, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has promulgated a number of wireless standards. These include the 802.11 (WiFi) standards and the 802.16 (WiMAX) standards. Likewise, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has promulgated standards to facilitate wireless communications. This includes TIA-856, which is also known as Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO). The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has also promulgated a standard known as long term evolution (LTE). Additional standards such as the fourth generation communication system (4G) are also being pursued. These standards pursue the aim of providing a comprehensive IP solution where voice, data, and streamed multimedia can be given to users on an “anytime, anywhere” basis. These standards also aim to provide higher data rates than previous generations. All of these standards may include specifications for various aspects of wireless communication with a network. These aspects include processes for registering on the network, carrier modulation, frequency bands of operation, and message formats.
The significant expansion of wireless communication networks has enabled many services and applications that use wireless devices. Some of these services involve the transmission of live video content a large number of users simultaneously and in real-time. These types of services can be characterized as being a one-to-many transmission model (as opposed to a one-to-one transmission model—a.k.a., unicast). The one-to-many transmission model (a.k.a., broadcast or multicast) allows, much like analog television, multiple users to receive the same data simultaneously via a wireless over the air interface.
Overview
In an embodiment, a method of operating a communication system includes multicasting first video frame data to a plurality of wireless devices. This video frame data is multicast using a wireless link which is using a first number of transmission subframes for the multicast video data. From the plurality of wireless devices, a first plurality of reception reports associated with the first video frame data are received. In response to the plurality of reception reports meeting a threshold criteria, second video frame data is multicast to the plurality of wireless devices using a second number of transmission subframes.
In an embodiment, a method of multicasting a video to a plurality of wireless devices includes wirelessly multicasting a first video segment file to the plurality of wireless devices using a first selected amount of subframe bundling. From the plurality of wireless devices, a first plurality of reception information reports associated with reception of the first video segment file are received. In response to the first plurality of reception information reports indicating that the reception of the first video segment file meets a first threshold criteria, a second selected amount of subframe bundling is selected. A second video segment file is multicast to the plurality of wireless devices using the second selected amount of subframe bundling.
In an embodiment, a communication system comprises an access node configured to receive a first set of reception information reports. These reception information reports are associated with a first video segment file being which was multicast to a plurality of wireless devices by the access node using a first level of subframe bundling. The communication system also includes a processing node configured to receive the first set of reception information reports. In response to the first set of reception information reports meeting a threshold criteria, the processing node configures the access node to multicast a second video segment file using a second level of subframe bundling.